Politics
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Bill Carmichael. Overblown rhetoric about Free Trade Agreements.
The goal of trade policy is not limited to increasing export opportunities. Nor is it just about improving trade balances. Rather trade policy is about taking opportunities to improve the economy’s productive base. When assessing a nation’s experience with bilateral trade agreements, this is the test that should be applied. In each bilateral agreement Australia Continue reading »
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Richard Woolcott. A modern Australia for the 21st century.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said it is a great and exciting time for Australia. Indeed, it is a time of great opportunity for the Australian Government elected later this year to take bold action which will transform Australia into an updated, modern member of the Asian and South West Pacific Region. After World War II the Continue reading »
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Jon Stanford and Michael Keating. A more efficient submarine solution.
This week the Melbourne Age, SMH and the Canberra Times carried the following article written by Jon Stanford and Michael Keating on the $50 b. submarine project. This article is based on a three part article written by Jon Stanford and posted in Pearls and irritations. See link to three articles below. John Menadue Continue reading »
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Luke Fraser. Grattan in the transport pantomime: ‘You’re getting colder … ‘
Earlier this month the Grattan Institute made its first major report into transport, producing Roads to Riches: better transport spending[i]. The 70-page report is replete with interesting-enough statistics, but it misses the mark on the major problems and where solutions might most reliably be found. Its core conclusions could perpetuate expensive mistakes (more of that Continue reading »
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Evan Williams. The seven sacred cows of Australian politics
We are indebted to the Hindu religion for that useful term sacred cow. As every schoolboy knows, Hindus venerate the cow and forbid its slaughter or abuse. Our political landscape abounds in sacred cows – institutions or practices that are considered beyond criticism, immune to scrutiny and supported by politicians of all parties. Some sacred Continue reading »
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Mark Harris. Obesity: it is time to tax sugar sweetened beverages?
Obesity rates are increasing in the Australian population (Figure 1). There is a widening socioeconomic gap with low socioeconomic groups having the highest rates. There is some evidence that obesity rates in children may be levelling off but not in low socioeconomic status children. Overweight and obesity contributes significantly to the burden of disease (about Continue reading »
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‘We are the forgotten people’; the anguish of Australia’s invisible asylum seekers.
Nearly 29,000 asylum seekers are in Australia on temporary ‘bridging visas’. These people may be free from detention but – with many denied education, healthcare and the right to work – they remain locked in desperate poverty and with no idea what their future holds. See link below to an article in The Guardian Australia. Continue reading »
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China and North Korea: the long goodbye.
Jonathan D. Pollack from The Brookings Institution quotes Ambassador Wu Dawei, Japan’s long-time leading negotiator on the Korean nuclear issue, who expressed mounting frustration that North Korea lets China’s advice ‘go through one ear and out the other ear’. Ambassador Wu suggests that North Korea ‘ had signed its own death warrant’. For link to Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Health reform and cooperative federalism. Part 2
In part 1 of this series, I set out why I was attracted to the development of an option set out in a COAG paper on health reform which suggested the establishment of a commonwealth hospital benefit which would replace the PHI subsidy. Regional Purchasing Agencies to address the’ blame game’ in health. In part Continue reading »
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Klaas Woldring-electoral reform,who are the reformers?
Electoral reform in Australia is extremely important. The self-interest of the parties should not dominate it. I believe an entirely Independent Inquiry should be held about Australia’s electoral systems altogether, similar to the Royal Commission in NZ in the 1980s. There are also very major problems with the single-member-electoral district system, problems that have Continue reading »
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Institute for Public Affairs: the think tank with arms everywhere.
In this blog on 1 April 2016, Greg Bailey wrote about the close relationship between the Liberal Party and the Institute for Public Affairs. https://johnmenadue.com/blog/?p=6023 In the SMH on April 7, Elizabeth Farrelly also wrote about the Institute for Public Affairs ‘The think tank with arms everywhere’. See link below: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/institute-for-public-affairs-the-think-tank-with-arms-everywhere-20160406-gnzlhq.html Continue reading »
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John Menadue. The health insurance lobby at work at the expense of the public interest.
For many years, Ian McAuley and I have been highlighting the damage to our health system and the Australian economy as a result of the $11 b. p.a. subsidy to the private health insurance industry. We have highlighted the following and never has there been a rebuttal by these vested interests. The subsidy favours high Continue reading »
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Lara Moroko & Sarah Duffy. Thrashing the brand: ANZ and CBA could pay a high price for choosing profit over people.
The recent CBA and ANZ scandals show that the big banks fail to understand the long-term pay off from investing in their relationships with people over short-term profit. ANZ stands accused of unconscionable conduct and manipulating the bank bill swap rate(known as the BBSW) in its favour, short changing its customers and generating illicit profits. Continue reading »
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David Stephens. Bill Shorten’s Royal Commission proposal.
Labor and the banks go way, way back Bill Shorten’s proposal to have a Royal Commission into the banking system is not just good politics. It also taps into a long Labor tradition: banking Royal Commissions – and banking policy generally – occupy a special corner in Labor’s history. We need to see terms of Continue reading »
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David James. CommInsure expose proves spin doesn’t always win.
One of the challenges facing business journalists in Australia is the wall of spin they face whenever they are trying to uncover an uncomfortable truth. The spin ranges from outright lying to being highly selective with the facts. Most journalists either struggle to get beyond the wall, decide it is to their benefit not to Continue reading »
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John Menadue. Bad apples, corporate culture and leadership.
The recent scandals at CBA,ANZ and now Wespac have focused us on business culture. But the CEOs keep telling us that there is no business culture problem but only a few bad apples. If only that were true. The issues are more systemic than they would suggest and the problem covers a wide range of Continue reading »
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Bryce Barker. Of course Australia was invaded – massacres happened here less than 90 years ago.
Much has been made in the last few days of the University of New South Wales’ “diversity toolkit” offering teachers guidelines on Indigenous terminology. The most controversial directive was a line about using the term “invasion” to describe Captain Cook’s arrival here: Australia was not settled peacefully, it was invaded, occupied and colonised. Describing the Continue reading »
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David Stephens. Invading our smugness: thoughts on a diversity toolkit
Wednesday, 30 March, must have been a slow news day at the Daily Telegraph. It is difficult to find any other reasonable explanation for the fuss the Telegraph made about the ‘diversity toolkit’ it discovered on the website of the University of New South Wales. What followed, however, spoke volumes about how careless some in Continue reading »
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David Peetz. Productivity in the Construction Industry: Did it surge under the Coalition’s Reforms?
On 7.30 recently the Prime Minister dismissed the Productivity Commission’s findings on productivity growth in the construction industry in favour of those from a small consultancy firm. He used it to support a claim that the previous Coalition government’s legislative reforms in that industry had led to a 20% increase in construction productivity, which had Continue reading »
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Paul Budde. NBN company needs support to pursue FTTdp
In his blog of 5 April, Paul Budde suggests that the NBN company needs support to help it overcome the stumbling block of Malcolm Turnbull who seems unwilling to reconsider the mistake he made on the NBN as Communications Minister in the Abbott government. See Paul Budde’s article below. See also link to article http://www.buddeblog.com.au/frompaulsdesk/nbn-company-needs-support-to-pursue-fttdp/ Continue reading »
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Ian Marsh. What’s wrong with Australian politics? Part 3.
Here’s a puzzle. Over the past decade or so Australian politics has veered from one crisis to another. In that same period New Zealand has enjoyed effective and constructive government. What’s the difference? Let’s start with the different records. First Australia. Here is a rough summary. Five prime ministers in five dysfunctional years. Internecine party Continue reading »
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James Morley. The idea that conservatives are better economic managers simply does not stand up.
Conventional wisdom holds that conservative politicians are more prudent stewards of the economy. These politicians are often happy to reinforce this view by citing their business acumen and denigrating the experience – or lack thereof – of their opponents. Think of Mitt Romney as multi-millionaire businessman versus Barack Obama, former community leader. Donald Trump also Continue reading »
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Richard Butler. Nuclear Security Summit: Washington Finale?
Seven years ago, President Obama spoke in Prague Square and undertook to “seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons”. He cautioned that this outcome would be immensely difficult to achieve and may not be reached in his own lifetime, but his speech was heard and widely taken as signaling an enhanced Continue reading »
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John Tulloh. Erdogan leads Turkey back to the Ottoman era.
It is the time of the year when we have our annual bout of sentimental reflection on the heroics of the Anzac forces at Gallipoli a century ago. One of the Turkish military commanders whose resistance wore down the Anzacs and other allies was Kemal Ataturk, who went on to be the founder of Continue reading »
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Negative gearing has created empty houses and artificial scarcity.
In the SMH on March 28, 2016, Laurence Troy and Bill Randolph discuss the problem of negative gearing encouraging owners to leave houses empty. In this article they say ‘At the last census there were nearly 120,000 empty dwellings in the greater Sydney region alone, representing nearly one fifth of the projected new housing demand Continue reading »
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John Dwyer. Structural reforms to healthcare – two major reforms.
Does the government understand the structural reforms to health care needed by modern Australia? Political pre-election posturing at the moment has involved many debating the question that asks ’Do we have a spending or a revenue problem in Australia?” Certainly when it comes to our health system we should first be asking what structural reforms Continue reading »
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Jon Stanford and Michael Keating – Submarines; cost, capability and timelines.
This article is a response to the article posted yesterday by Paul Barratt and Chris Barrie. ‘The case for building the future submarines in Australia.’ Both Paul Barratt and Chris Barrie have served at the highest levels in Defence and their views are clearly worthy of very serious consideration. Indeed, their contention that a military-off-the-shelf Continue reading »
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Ian Marsh. Disaffected electorates? Dysfunctional political systems? Part 2 of 3.
Malcolm Turnbull’s has created the grounds for a July election. This crafty electoral ploy offers short term gains. If the cross bench resist, the election is legitimate. If the cross bench cave in, he will have demonstrated bold leadership. Moreover, he will have attained legislation that is highly prized by his Liberal heartland. Then he Continue reading »
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John Menadue. The fake discussion about state taxes.
Malcolm Turnbull’s ruse is obvious. He wants us to forget all about deficits and debt and the need for budget repair. To avoid these issues, he now tells us that if we want improved health and education services, we cannot have them because the states have refused his offer on state taxes and he will Continue reading »
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Cavan Hogue. Malcolm Turnbull, COAG and media confusion.
Turnbull knew what he was doing. The media has turned on Malcolm Turnbull who is accused of ignorance. Media views seem to change even more often than political promises. However,surely the PM knew why he called the meeting with the states. He knew they would reject it which is what he wanted them to do. Continue reading »
